Governor Jerry Brown has been signing lots of bills into law, including SB 1045, which is designed to help homeless people with mental health issues get the help they need. Plus, Latinas are helping undocumented immigrant women who have suffered domestic violence. And, California is investing a lot of money to get you to buy an electric car

Temporary Protected Status

(Starts at 2:01)

A U.S. district judge in San Francisco has put a halt on the Trump administration's efforts to remove temporary protected status, or TPS, for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. TPS allows certain immigrants from nations that have been hit by crises like war or natural disaster to live and work in the U.S. legally. But the White House earlier this year announced that TPS would end for a lot of people—including those from countries like Nicaragua and El Salvador, who have been living in Southern California for years.

Guest:

Niels Frenzen, Director of the Immigration Clinic at the USC Gould School of Law

Mental Health Holds

(Starts at 7:16)

We’re continuing to plow through the bills that Governor Jerry Brown signed into law on Sunday. Next up is Senate Bill 1045, which allows three counties – San Francisco, San Diego and L.A. – to expand rules of when a when a mentally ill person is held involuntarily for mental health treatment. The bill was intended to help counties treat mentally ill people with substance abuse issues, and in particular, get some of the homeless population off the streets. But not everyone thinks this new law will help those in need of mental health treatment.

Guest:

Margot Kushel, professor of medicine and director of at UC-San Francisco’s Center for Vulnerable Populations

Tents and belongings of the homeless line a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018, as a United Nations report on poverty and inequality says 185 million Americans are living in extreme poverty. - And in Los Angeles, which has one of the nation's largest homeless populations, the mayor said last week people may start getting arrested again for sleeping on the sidewalk now that the city feels it has enough new housing to meet settlement requirements. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Latina Network

(Starts at 15:19)

The #MeToo movement has created space for those who've suffered physical or sexual abuse and harassment to come forward. But it's not so easy to seek help if you're a victim of domestic violence, especially if you are an undocumented immigrant. Because of this, there is a growing network of Latinas in California - and across the country - who have opened their homes to women who've faced abuse at home and at work, and provided them with assistance to try to escape the violence.

Parental Stress

Two recent studies look at how parents’ experiences affect the development of their children.

Guest:

Priska Neely, KPCC early childhood development reporter

Refugee Ceiling

(Starts at 30:18)

Two friends worked for the U.S. military in Iraq — one made it to Anaheim as a refugee, the other is stuck in Iraq, having run into the roadblocks that have been thrown up under the Trump administration. It's a story about the U.S. hardening its stand on refugees but also about an enduring friendship that survived war and distance.

Valley Fever

(Starts at 34:52)

Most people think of it as an ailment confined to the Central Valley and it's true, that's still where most cases are found. But dust storms have blown the spores that create Valley fever across the state - even down to Los Angeles. Almost 1,000 cases were reported in L.A. County in 2017. And this year is on track to be worse.

Guest:

Robert Kim-Farley, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

The winds can get pretty bad in the Central Valley. This photo shows how extreme it can get, although it has not been quote so bad since this dust storm swept through Bakersfield in 1977.
Via Kern County Doctor

California is serious about you buying an electric car

(Starts at 40:57)

The Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America announced Wednesday how it plans to spend the next $200 million it's obligated to invest in California zero-emissions vehicles as a result of the dieselgate settlement. In a separate announcement, the California Air Resources Board held a press conference with the utility Southern California Edison and the auto maker General Motors to announce they are joining Veloz -- a massive public-private partnership involving 35 entities in California to help accelerate the adoption of EVs, the first phase of which is a new advertising campaign launching in a few weeks.